Luis Enrique: It's a match that gives many players a boost

The manager speaks about his delight for the way the team performed against Hércules

www.fcbarcelona.com

11:15PM Wednesday 21 Dec

Football

21 Dec 16

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Luis Enrique saw his side put in a fine performance to book their place in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday with a 7-0 win over Hércules.

The manager believes it will give a major confidence boost to a number of his players and was generally pleased with the all-round display. Here is what the boss had to say:

“We knew that they would set up similarly to the first leg, with many players behind the ball, making it difficult to find spaces. But we remained patient to continue generating (chances) through our possession.”

“It is a match that gives a boost to many of the players and the team.”

“Against a narrow team, we wanted to make the pitch bigger, that is why we moved the full-backs higher up.”

“We moved the ball around well which led to them becoming tired. In the second half, more spaces and more chances arrived.”

“I like all competitions, we are an ambitious team and we want to win everything.”

“Denis was very good in the first half playing behind the opposition’s line of midfielders to filter out their passes. In the second he played in between the lines, he is a player that gives us a lot of options.”

“I am happy with Paco Alcácer’s performance, as we all are. He is a goalscorer who helps us a lot.”

Paco Alcácer

Alcácer himself also spoke after the game about his delight to finally get off the mark for the club, saying: “It is special to score in this shirt at the Camp Nou.”

The Spanish international praised his teammates for “playing a complete game, with goals, intensity and good football”.

He was thrilled with his goal but said “the most important is the impression that the team left” and added that, for him personally, he “must work and be at 100 per cent to take advantage of the opportunities”.

Rakitic

“Hércules arrived to play a good game and they defended well for the first half hour.”

“Once the first goal arrived, things became easier.”

“We all try to do our best in each game and we must continue in this way.”

“I rate 2016 very positively, though it is always possible to improve.”

Digne

“I am very happy for the win and my first goal. It was the first of the game and it was an important goal.”

“We knew that we had to attack and press high to get a good result.”

Rafinha

“We know that when we face a very defensive team, they would not leave us much space, nor out wide or in the middle. We tried to attack more from out wide in the first half, while the second we moved around more and made more attempts.”